Titans #32 Review
Titans 32 finally follows up on Titans 31, which the Shazam one shot was supposed to do and utterly did not. The promised Osiris vs Shazam fight finally happens, and the surrounding property damage is astounding. Freddie tries to reason with Amon throughout the battle, and gets nowhere for most of it. Back at the Labyrinth, Ink follows up on the catharsis of killing the man who murdered his son by announcing he’s quitting. Back in Philly, the right rages on, as Freddie gets Amon to think, and wonder why his prior killings haven’t brought Isis back yet.
Back at the base, Cinder tries to get Ink to stay, and fails. Ink tries to get Arsenal to come with him, and fails. Slade tries to get him to stay by saying the life of his own son is at stake, and fails. See a pattern? Ink walks off, but Slade is sure he’ll be back. As Freddie continues talking with Osiris, he makes the brilliant tactical decision to turn his back on someone just as powerful as he is who is also mentally unstable. Where’s this alleged Wisdom of Solomon? Amon decides that bringing back a god like Isis requires more than mortal sacrifices, and grabs Freddie, yelling “ISIS” again. This doesn’t actually kill Freddie, but it does strip him of his powers, just like Billy and Mary already have been. Amon briefly changes into his White Lantern outfit, as the voice of the White Lantern that has been pestering all the resurrected ones from Brightest Day says he has returned the goddess of nature to life.
The change triggers a minor earthquake at the Labyrinth, and the team rushes to investigate. There’s a one page stop off in Ivy Town where Ray Palmer declares that his investigation has told him that the killer Dwarfstar was using his powers around when Ryan was killed. Of course, we saw Ryan’s death, and Dwarfstar wasn’t even there, but hey, why bother with pesky things like facts? I mean, the guy writing this issue is the same man who wrote Ryan’s death, but that’s ok, we’ll move on. Osiris returns to find the team in his room, staring at something we can’t see. Isis is in a corner, bent over, clutching herself, demanding to know what Amon has done to her. She’s also in costume, which she wasn’t when she was transformed into a statue by the returned Wizard, but we do seem to be fact-light in this issue. Next issue is supposed to be the shocking secret of Isis revelaed, and Arsenal and Cheshire reveal their hearts of darkness. Seems a bit redundant, with two reveals in one blurb, but that’s how they wrote it.
What I liked and what I didn’t:
Freddie and Osiris were both shown as the powerhouses they are. The battle was a major event, which is fitting when titans of their stature clash (no pun intended). Of course, this doesn’t explain how Osiris got punched out by Killer Croc a while ago, but…. right, this is the positive part. Ummm… Yeah. Isis is back, which is good. I think. I liked her until they made her a crazed evil vengeance seeking villain during her time in the JSA arc just before she was petrified. And good for Ink quitting. He got what he wanted, knows he can’t trust Slade, and left. Smart move.
Ok, SERIOUSLY!!! Has DC declared war on the Marvel family? After the special, Billy and Mary remain powerless, and now Freddie joins them? Since his powers came from the gods directly, and Osiris’ were gifted from Black Adam, I don’t see how this worked at all. And what happened to Black Adam? Both statues were in Osiris’ room. Isis is back. Is Adam still a coat rack in the corner? And how is Isis back in costume and presumably re-powered? Who or what is strong enough to interfere with both the magics of the wizard Shazam and the direct gifts of the gods? They might pull some incredible explanation next issue, but I’m starting to doubt it. I also wonder when/if Ray will figure out he was wrong about Dwarfstar being there for Ryan’s death. For that matter, with as much personal hate as Dwarfstar had for Ryan, I never did buy his took out a contract on the man. And for a team book, most of this one had much of the team standing around posing dramatically and doing nothing.
If they don’t pull off a minor miracle by the end of this story, I’m dropping this title when it finally ends.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Isis is back, we think, and Ink left | war on the Marvels, what is changing all their powers, Ray being dead wrong |
| Rating |
2 Comments
Aspects of your review are totally off-base. For instance:
Why wouldn’t Isis be back in her uniform when she becomes repowered? Have you ever seen any of the Marvels without their uniforms when they are not powered up? Why would she remain in her middle eastern robes?
Also, why is the team supposed to be doing something besides dialogue and exposition? They’ve spent the past several issues in one fight or another. What, people in your world don’t experience any moral dilemmas?
I was commenting more that Isis, when turned into a statue, was in civilian clothing. Upon being freed from the petrification, she’s suddenly in costume. It seemed a bit odd to me, yes.
People in my world do, indeed, experience moral dilemmas. I’m just not sure which you’re referring to here. Ink leaving was a good decision, and I applaud him for it, as I did above. So was his trying to get Roy to leave with him. Cinder trying to get him to stay was, in my view, a poor decision. I’m not sure there was much, if any, exposition here at all. But to each their own, sorry if you didn’t care for the review.